Where Will CRISPR Take Us?

 

Charpentier and Doudna 

In the fourteen years since I began posting on this Lion Lamb blog (more than 4,000 entries) I've endeavoured to address the issues of daily life from a faith standpoint. Although I retired from Christian ministry three years ago I've continued to muse away. I've always written because doing so helps me focus my perspective on what I'm reading, experiencing, feeling. The challenge I often face is coalescing thoughts about complex subjects in a few paragraphs. In some respects its harder to write a blog of a few paragraphs than a sermon or an essay. 

During the past week I've wanted to reflect on the awarding of a Nobel Prize for Chemistry.but it's hard to know how to begin, and end, and fill in the important part in between.  

Scientists Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna have been recognized for  the development of a method for genome editing that has revolutionized science by providing a way to alter DNA. They are the first women ever to be awarded the prize together. This field is often described with acronym CRISPR, which is stands for "clusters of regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats." 

The implications for this development arehuge. It opens the way for the alteration of defective genes which cause life-threatening diseases. This is wonderful, right? It always raises the spectre of using a medical technology which could widen the gap between rich and poor in treatment of illnesses, and even of creating children with attributes chosen by parents. What if Donald Trump could pay for gene editing which would enable him to live to age 200? Now you're getting a picture of the dark side!

While Charpentier and Doudna should be lauded for their achievement, there is the possibility that unscrupulous scientists will monetize this technology without consideration for the ethics of doing so. Two years ago, the Chinese scientist He Jiankui claimed to have created the world’s first gene-edited babies and was jailed for the reckless way in which he did so. 

One of Canada's leading ethicists, Francoise Baylis, has written a book on the subject, Altered Inheritance,  and thoughtfully explored the implications. Francoise was a Dalhousie University professor and  a member of my Halifax congregation. I have her book and we've exchanged messages about what is unfolding. She is certainly not an alarmist, yet she sees how the development of this field could create profound societal issues. Who will be asking the necessary questions for regulation? Will governments be up to the task, and will there be international cooperation? Will communities of faith get involved in asking the appropriate questions from a moral and ethical standpoint, and will anyone listen? 

Well, I hope this hasn't driven you back to bed on a sleepy morning! Again, I'm grateful to Doudna and Charpentier for their scientific genius. I also appreciate those who understand the importance of considering the wide-ranging implications of CRISPR. 

There is a copy of Altered Inheritance of the Belleville Library if you're interested.